


The Best of Both of US

by aggressivelybicaptainamerica



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Defenders (Marvel TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Breaking Up & Making Up, M/M, Magical Pregnancy, Misunderstandings, Morning Sickness, Unplanned Pregnancy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-15
Updated: 2019-04-15
Packaged: 2020-01-13 16:15:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,185
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18472501
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aggressivelybicaptainamerica/pseuds/aggressivelybicaptainamerica
Summary: Luke stands in the doorway, frowning as Danny gags over the toilet.  Every morning he’s up and puking, and this has been going on for weeks now.  Luke is starting to get anxious.  They had dismissed it as the stomach flu or food poisoning, but it comes and goes in strange and unpredictable ways, and Luke just can’t ignore it anymore.





	The Best of Both of US

**Author's Note:**

  * For [dirty_diana](https://archiveofourown.org/users/dirty_diana/gifts).



> I hope this hits enough of your likes, Diana! I'm glad to finally get to write for this pairing, so thank you!

Luke stands in the doorway, frowning as Danny gags over the toilet.  Every morning he’s up and puking, and this has been going on for weeks now.  Luke is starting to get anxious. They had dismissed it as the stomach flu or food poisoning, but it comes and goes in strange and unpredictable ways, and Luke just can’t ignore it anymore.

“Babe I’m starting to get worried,” Luke says gently, stepping into the bathroom to rub Danny’s back.  “This has been going on way too long for this to just be a bad dinner or the flu. I want to take you to the doctor, see what’s going on and what we can do to make you feel better.”

“I’m fine,” Danny insists, wiping his mouth with a piece of toilet paper before flushing and standing  “ We don’t have time for me to be on leave, with the Hand acting up. Besides, I’m already feeling better so don’t even worry about it.”  Luke sighs, biting back his initial sharp rebuke. He knew that yelling and getting upset would only make Danny dig in further, so he silently helps Danny to his feet and tries not to worry.

~ ~ ~

“I don’t need your help Luke!” Danny snaps, staggering up the stairs after a particularly brutal fight.  His suit is ripped from navel to knee down the right side, and the gash is dripping steadily. Danny’s pale and shaking, but determined to make it up the stairs himself, even with Luke’s hand under his arm.

“You don’t have to baby me!” Danny finally says, tearing out of Luke’s grip.

“You got hurt!”

“Yeah, and?” Danny snaps.  “I’ve been hurt before.” Stepping away, Danny staggers up the stairs, stumbling as the gash on his leg oozes a little faster.  One bad step sends Danny to the floor with a cry, but even then he pushes Luke away.

“Babe...”

“Just go, Luke,” Danny snaps, and Luke steps back, face crumpling.

“What do you need from me?” Luke begs, desperate to help but unsure what Danny needs from him.  “Let me help you.”

“I don’t need your help,” Danny spits, and Luke feels it like a punch to the gut.  “I Don’t need anyone’s help.”

~ ~ ~

Danny can’t sleep that night, and it’s not just the throbbing of his injured body. He keeps hearing this phantom fluttering, a woosh that pulses like a rapidly fluttering heartbeat.  It doesn’t ever sync with his own lower one, and it buzzes from inside him in a distracting wash. Even meditation and sleeping pills can’t distract him from the strange pulsing inside him, and suddenly he’s terrified that Luke was right and that there was something really wrong with him.  He focuses his chi, scanning his body for injuries and abnormalities, freezing when he finds the source of the sounds.

A baby.  He’s hearing a baby’s heartbeat, and the baby is growing inside him, snug and healthy as far as he can tell.  It’s cradled in a wash of his own energy instead of a uterus or any other organ, but he can see the way his body is changing and growing to accommodate the baby growing in his belly.

A baby.

Shit.

_ Luke’s  _ baby.

Luke who he had yelled and screamed at for worrying about him just hours ago.  Luke who surely thought Danny was breaking up with him.

Fuck.

~ ~ ~

He goes to find Dr Strange the next day, unsure who else he can turn to to help with a literal magic pregnancy.  He’s still in a lot of pain, and Stephen gives him a once over before his eyes narrow.

“Interesting...” He says, staring at Danny’s belly.  “Well come in and I’ll help you get sorted. It’s been a while since I did my obstetrics rotations, but things can’t have changed that much.”

Soon Danny and their baby (a little girl Stephen says) both get a clean bill of health, along with some rather uncomfortable news that it looks like the baby will be born naturally as his body continues to change.  He’s given some advice for the morning sickness and a list of prenatal vitamins, as well as an open door invitation in case anything goes wrong. But Danny doesn’t know what to do, and wanders aimlessly, a hand on his belly. 

He’s so wrapped up in his own thoughts that he doesn’t see the Hand ninjas until they have him backed into a corner.  The knowledge of the new life growing inside him makes him tremble as they surround him, and he has to take a breath to keep his hands from shaking.

“Iron Fist,” their leader says, grinning as he steps forward.  Danny feels his skin crawl as the man’s gaze lands on your belly.  They can’t know. Can they?

“You can’t escape us this time. Not without killing your unborn child.”  Danny goes cold.

“You’re lying!”

“You only have so much chi.  And most of it is swirling around that baby.  Pull on it too much and the baby will be smothered by your own body.  You don’t want that now do you?” Danny cradles his belly with one hand, already so in love with the baby he only just learned is growing inside him.

“And what is this baby to you?”

“A baby, born of the chi of two soul mates?  A powerful baby indeed, even ignoring its heritage.  A worthy inheritor of the Hand’s legacy.”

“My child will never fall into your hands!”  
“Will you kill it to ensure that, Rand?”

There’s a huge commotion before Danny can reply, Luke and Matt scattering the ninja surrounding him.  They clearly weren’t expecting the resistance, and it’s not much of a fight. Danny slumps to the ground, leaning against the wall of the ally and trying not to cry.

“Danny!” Luke cries.  “Fuck Danny what did they do to you?”

“Luke I’m so sorry,” Danny blubbers, clutching at him.  “You were right. This wasn’t just the flu or shitty New York food.  I’m pregnant.”

“I’d think I’d know if you were plumbed that way,” Luke says doubtfully.

“It’s my chi.  Apparently it finds you extra compatible or something.  I don’t really get it either, but I feel her and Dr. Strange confirmed it.”  Matt kneels beside him for a moment, face breaking out in a grin.

“Yeah that’s a heartbeat alright,” he says with a laugh.  “Man magic is wild.”

“It’s not magic,” Danny grumbles, getting up.  Luke stays close, and Danny smiles sadly at him.

“I...I’m sure this is a lot and if you want--”

“Don’t even finish that sentence,” Luke says.  “That's my baby. And you’re still my boyfriend, even though we’ve been fighting.”  Danny pulls him in for a crushing hug, utterly relieved that Luke didn’t hate him for the way he’d been a total jackass.  Danny and Luke head back to Danny’s place together, Luke with a hand on the small of Danny’s back.

“I’m in it for the long haul, okay?” Luke promises, and somehow that makes the threat of the Hand, impending fatherhood, and everything that’s happening just a little easier to bear. 

**Author's Note:**

> And also while this didn't make it into the story, the baby is named Jessie, in a nod to the fact that Luke and Jessica's baby is named after Danny in the comics.


End file.
